Jamal Crawford explains why he turned down the Cavs to join Minnesota

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been one of the most active teams in the market this offseason and have assembled an impressive heading into the new campaign.

The Wolves made one of the biggest acquisitions by bringing in All-Star guard Jimmy Butler via a trade with the Chicago Bulls.

The move reunites Butler with his former head coach Tom Thibodeau and their presence certainly played a part in securing free agent Taj Gibson.

The franchise also made one of the smartest pickups of the summer by bringing in point guard Jeff Teague.

With that trio on board, Minnesota was already a big offseason winner but they weren't finished there as they were able to also convince veteran shooting guard Jamal Crawford to bring his talents to Minneapolis.

After being traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to Atlanta Hawks, the 37-year-old secured a buyout from the Eastern Conference team and became a free agent.

Despite his age, Crawford is still a productive player in the league and was highly coveted by multiple teams, including the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Having been in the NBA for 17 years and not even reach a conference final, nobody would've blamed Crawford for accepting an offer from Cleveland and chasing a championship, knowing that his chances of making it to Finals are extremely high.

However, the silky ball handler decided he wanted to join the T-Wolves instead and he provided some interesting reasons for doing so.

"They showed they were serious, trying to get things done right away," Crawford told The Star Tribune's Jerry Zgoda. "I felt like the time is right. I felt like I could fit. At this point of my career, I could easily chase a championship.

"I'm not saying we won't compete, but it's not about that. I want to take the journey and go through the wars with these guys.

"The Cavs, they've been there. Those guys know what it's like to be in the Finals and win a championship. The Warriors, same deal. If I went there and let's say we happen to win, what's next? Sometimes it's more gratifying to help teams go from one point to another point."

It's a hugely refreshing perspective from Crawford and certainly makes a lot of sense.

His role on the Cavaliers would also have been limited and his presence will have much more of an effect on the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins in Minny.

According to the three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner, joining a Cavs team likely to win the east again is not as thrilling as it sounds.

"That's the challenge. That's what's so fun about it," Crawford said. "What if you went to the movies and knew how it ended when the movie started? It's exciting because nobody really knows what we can be."

One thing they certainly want to be is a playoff team and the franchise will be hoping to end the NBA's longest postseason drought.

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